Author: damazah@gmail.com

As Africa’s disease burden shifts, access to essential medicines is emerging as an even bigger challenge. A new report launched by the Access to Medicine Foundation has spotlighted how generic medicine manufacturers are responding to rising demand for treatments, particularly for diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer, while warning that only one in two people living with type 1 diabetes on the continent has reliable access to insulin. Chiemelie Ezeobi reports  The growing number of Africans living with diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer is creating a new challenge for health systems already struggling to keep essential medicines within patients’ reach. That concern took…

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says over 95,000 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) remain uncollected in Plateau State, ahead of the 2027 general elections. The commission also said it was making arrangements to enable internally displaced persons (IDPs) in nine local government areas affected by communal conflicts and displacement to participate in the elections. The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Plateau, Sam Egwu, disclosed this on Wednesday in Jos at a readiness assessment meeting with political parties, civil society organisations and other stakeholders. Mr Egwu urged political parties and other stakeholders to intensify voter mobilisation and public enlightenment campaigns to…

Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina waves to the crowd after defeating China’s Zheng Qinwen during their women’s singles quarter-final tennis match on day eleven of the US Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City on September 9, 2026. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP) Elena Rybakina ended Zheng Qinwen’s spirited US Open run on Wednesday, guaranteeing her rise to world No. 1 as she booked a semi-final showdown with Coco Gauff. Rybakina beat Zheng 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 and is assured of ending Aryna Sabalenka’s reign atop the standings — even if the Belarusian…

By Adegboyega Adeleye Former Big Brother Naija Season 11 housemate, Whitney Chukwu, popularly known as Nomy, has broken her silence following her disqualification from the ‘Show Ya Sef’ edition, apologising to fans and expressing regret over her abrupt exit from the reality show. Nomy spoke during a recent X Space session, where she thanked her supporters for standing by her and said she would have approached her time in the house differently if she had realised how much support she had outside. “I am sorry to anyone whom I have let down. It wasn’t intentional,” she said. “If I had…

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt The Amanyanabo of the Source, Da Amakiri Tubo, Alhaji Mujahid Abubakr Dokubo-Asari, has rejected allegations by the Udekama Council of Chiefs accusing Royal Fouche Security Services of operating as an “army of occupation” and engaging in land grabbing. Dokubo-Asari described the allegations as “sad, vexatious and provocative,” insisting that he had been wrongly drawn into a longstanding land dispute between neighbouring communities that predates his involvement. Speaking with journalists, the monarch said he was particularly saddened by the allegations after returning to Rivers State following an extended absence. “I felt saddened when I heard these allegations.…

US President Donald Trump says he would offer every adult American a $5,000 (£3,700) payout if Republicans win both chambers of Congress in November’s midterm elections – a plan that would cost more than a trillion dollars.The offer was made in a speech at the party’s first-ever convention in the middle of a US presidential term. He gave no details on how it would work or be funded – saying only that the money would have to be spent in the US. Vice-President JD Vance has linked the plan to the revenue that Trump has raised for the US government…

WIRELESS APPLICATION SERVICE PROVIDERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA LTD/GTE v. FEDERAL COMPETITION AND CONSUMER PROTECTION COMMISSION FEDERAL HIGH COURT (LAGOS DIVISION) (LEWIS-ALLAGOA, J) FACTS Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria Ltd/Gte (“the Plaintiff”) is an incorporated association representing wireless application and value-added service providers in the Nigerian telecommunications and digital-services sector. Its members operate within a sector whose primary regulator is the Nigerian Communications Commission (“the NCC”) under the enabling Act. The dispute arose because the Plaintiff considered that the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (“the Defendant”) had, by the Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations, 2025,…

As Cohort 36 begins on November 9, 2026, the Lagos-based software engineering Bootcamp marks a decade of training technology professionals whose careers now span Africa and global technology markets, while evolving beyond training into a connected technology talent ecosystem. Moat Academy is marking 10 years of developing software talent as it prepares to welcome Cohort 36 on November 9, 2026. The milestone offers an opportunity to look beyond graduation numbers and consider a broader measure of technology education: what learners go on to do with the skills, experience, and opportunities they gain. Over the past decade, Moat Academy reports having…

As fibroids continue to affect the quality of life of many women, Avon Medical Practice is using the story of survivor Moyo Awotile to deepen awareness and promote timely medical care. Through its documentary, Overcoming Fibroids: A Journey of Care and Compassion, the Lagos-based multispecialty healthcare provider is bringing the conversation beyond diagnosis and treatment to the realities patients face, while highlighting its broader approach to women’s health and comprehensive medical care. Chiemelie Ezeobi writes  “You are not meant to suffer in silence.” For Moyo Awotile, those words carry the weight of experience. Her warning to women about painful and excessively…

The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has rejected the allegation by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) that the Agency is exceeding its statutory mandate through its involvement in the proposed National Learner Identification Number (LIN) initiative. NANS, in a statement signed by its President, Comrade Akinteye Babatunde Afeez, had rejected the proposed LIN, describing it as unnecessary and potentially duplicative of the National Identification Number (NIN). The students’ body also questioned NOA’s involvement in the initiative and alleged that the Agency was championing an identification system outside its mandate. Clarifying the Agency’s position, the Director-General of NOA, Lanre Issa-Onilu,…